DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Good morning. I'm David Greene. Amazing the things music can inspire.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VOODOO CHILD")
JIMI HENDRIX: (Singing) 'Cause I'm a voodoo child.
GREENE: This is "Voodoo Child," Jimi Hendrix. It was playing when Mark Dodero, a former grad student at San Diego State, discovered a plant - not an extraordinary plant - has pink flowers, dies in the summer. Its very existence is threatened by farming. No clear connection to Jimi Hendrix, except that's what was playing, so the plant is officially Dudleya hendrixii - Hendrix's live forever. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.